[cheers and applause] thank you. [cheers and applause] thank you. Thank you all very much. Now, before we begin, i have to ask you for a favor. Not for a moment of silence but for a moment of celebration, for the extraordinary life of governor brendan burn. Thats what he would have wanted. We know brendon wouldnt have wanted violence. He would have wonted celebration so lets all rise and celebrate governor burn. [cheers and applause] [applause] [applause] nine years ago yesterday, i went to pick up theneightyearold patrick and thenfiveyearold bridget from school. On my way out of school with them, on the front lawn of the Assumption School in morristown, i announced to the assembled media that i was a candidate for governor of new jersey. On that day i said many things but looking back the most important statement was this. I said if youre looking for the same old stuff, you got the wrong person. Little did i know just how right i would be nine years later. Nine years is a lifetime ago in todays culture. A culture of dvrs that skip commercial, twitter, facebook, instagram, snapchat and the short Attention Spans that come from these latest waves of communicating. So, today i want us to take a breath. We need remember where we were nine years ago. On the brink of financial ruin as a state, more people unemployed than at any time in modern history, culture in avoiding the tough decisions, taxing more, spending more, of borrowing at breakneck pace, the highest property taxes in america, growing at record rate. We had to have tough and plainspoken leadership to deal with these problems. We needed to careless about being loved and more about being respected. That is why i ran for governor. [applause] i ran to be different. I ran to speak bluntly. I ran to shine light on all of new new new jerseys real problem. I ran to offer tough but achievable solutions. Ran to be a governor who did not just mark time. I ran to win. I always run to win. And i ran to be a governor of consequence, and even though its easy to forget those days and to minimize the crises of nine years ago, and crisis indeed we were in 2009. Without the new policies and the new attitude that a band of former prosecutors brought here nine years ago, the crisis could have defeated us. Now in the same way, if we revert to the policies of the past, believe me, it is a short road back to the edge of disaster. As einstein said, while he was a professor down the road, at princeton, we cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them. Due to the fighting attitude we outthe progrowth policy wed fought for achieved together, im proud to be here today to tell you that the state of our state is very good, and without question, much, much better than it was eight years ago. [applause] state of my friends on both sides of the aisle, the affects are the facts. Eight years ago we inherited a state with an Unemployment Rate at 10 . In our eight years that Unemployment Rate was cut in half. Eight years ago, we had lost 248,000 private sector jobs, and businesses were leaving our state at a record pace. Today, eight years later, we have helped the private sector create 334,400 new jobs, and this year, 2017, just passed, 108,252 new businesses were created in new jersey, in 2017 alone, and alltime economic record for our state. [applause] the facts are the facts. More New Jerseyans are employed today than at any time in our states history, even though our population is growing at the slowest rate it has grown in state history. A long way from the depressing record of eight years ago, and i want you tomorrow this as we sit here today. This morning, 4. 3 million New Jerseyans woke up and had a job to go to work to today to support their families. We are proud of that. [applause] how did it happen . Where did new jerseys Economic Growth and job creation come from . In 2011, together, we passed broadbased business tax cuts that led to 3 billion in lower tacked that our Corporate Citizen is plowed into job contraction putting hundreds of thousands of citizen back to work women took an up Employment Insurance Fund that was 2 billion in debt, eight years ago, we have paid off that debt in record time, we passed a constitutional amendment to prevent politics from stealing from this fund again, and today, as we prepare to leave office, that fund is over 2 billion in surplus, not 2 billion in debt. [applause] by the way, the reform of our unEmployment Insurance Fund has led to an additional 400 million in jobcreating tax cuts for new jersey businessesnot tax increases. We passed Economic Opportunity act of 2013, together. Which has helped us to make new york more competitive at attracting and retaining jobs, putting even more of our citizens back to work. We reduced jobkilling regulations, at the direction of the lieutenant governor, by a third over the previous administration, freeing up resources to put New Jerseyans back to work, not waste money on lawyers and accountants to fund the next thing government was ordering them to do or not to do. Thats how to create jobs, not through the government doing it. [applause] finally, most importantly, we held the line on new and increased taxes. I vetoed income tax increases. I vetoed Corporate Tax increases. Vetoed energy tax increases. In fact over the last eight years, i have vetoes more tax increases than any governor in modern american history. [applause] [applause] let me say this to my friends on the side of the aisle who just stood up. Each one of those vetoes was sustained by my republican colleagues in the legislature, through the leadership of senator tom kean, jr. , the late alex deporch and john bremni crunch k. [applause] the bee leaguered taxpayers of new jersey were protected for the first anytime a decade from tax increases. So i want to say, to tom, to john, to betty lou, on behalf of her late husband, and to all the republicans who stood up and thad mose difficult votes. On behalf of the people and the businesses of new jersey who have much more of their own money in their pocket because of their leadership, thank you very much. [applause] you has led to seven consecutive years of private sector job growth. Now, that is a very consequence shall accomplishment. Cons consequential for all the people of number. At the inherited a budget that was bloated, out of balance and riddled with gimmicks2. Billion in deficit in a fiscal year that was five months from ending. A projected 11 billion deficit in the coming fiscal year, total of 13 billion of projected deficits over the first 18 months. Too many Public Employees doing too little and costing too much. One shot gimmicks that accounted for over 13 of our revenue when i entered this chamber eight years ago. We deferred raises in the last administration. We deferred payments in the last administration. All of them left as a ticking time bomb and little gift for the new governor. In addition, in eight years before we arrived, debt issued be State Government increased by more than 10 per year every year, and unsustainable rate of debt. In our eight years, we have reduced that rate of growth by threequarters, to only 2 a year, over the last eight years. We have stopped the decade of exploding debt growth initiated by our predecessors. Today, budgeted have been balanced for eight years a row. Today, there are over 10,000 fewer state employees. Today, Discretionary Spending is nearly 2 billion less than it was ten years ago. Not growth. Actual dollarfordollar spend and the oneshot revenues that created enormous chasms down to 2. 8 . So, lets be clear. Before the next team comes in here. We are handing off a state that is growing jobs, and a budget that is honestly balanced, unlike what we inherited eight years ago. [applause] one other way we controlled that, for eight years we have said no to unbudgeted, unplannedfor, exorbitant spending and have used the veto and the lineitem veto to enforce fiscal responsibility. Its been eight years. How much spending have we used the veto and lineitem veto to stop for taxpayers . Beside probably knows off the top of their head. We have vetoes and lineitem vetoed 7. 3 billion in spending that the legislature appropriated and wanted to do that we simply didnt have the money to pay for. Thats near abillion dollars a year every year that we kept in the pockets our citizens and out of the hands of trenton politicians. Thats the way you honestly balance budgets in the state, not by continuing to raise taxes on the people of new jersey. [applause] so, for governorelect murphy, we hand him a bugged that is a budget that is in balance, with a surplus, not the 2 billion deficit we were handed eight years ago. Those are the actions of an monday argues that treated our citizens money as if it were our own. Those are acts with real consequences for every taxpayer in this state. Now, while the budget crisis was the most immediate task that be face eight years ago, we debt i did not win just to fix those problems. We have a vision for tackling the chron mick problems in number. In ten years before we came to trenton property taxes increased 70 . And an average of 7 a year every year for ten years. Fact. That is a chronic problem which was crippling our citizens ability to buy and keep a home. Thats why win the legislature wanted to go home in july of 2010, after passing the budget i used my Constitutional Authority to call them back to finally address the growth of these taxes and together, we passed a 2 cap on property taxes with four exceptions. It was tough medicine but tough medicine is what was needed to deal with this issue. Heres the good news. We did it for our constituents and it worked. In 2017, dca just gave us the numbers, proximate taxes in new jersey increased by only 1. 64 . [applause] so therefore, in the last seven years, property taxes have increased an average of 1. 98 per year, the 2 cap worked. Dont change it. [applause] what has that meant to property taxpayers in the state . It has saved property tax taxpayers 18. 2 billion. Why else did it work . Because we also gave the towns and the counties the tool to control their largest single expense, police and fire salaries. Now, we have great men and women who serve as Police Officers in firefighters in the state. However, they are also the highest paid firefighters in america, and the second highest paid Police Officers in america. They are objectively not, not underpaid, not seven years ago, and not today. So to make the 2 cap real we needed to cap the interest arbitration salary increases given to them every year. So we did it, in a bipartisan way. Twice. Twice. And it has saved over 500 million in salary increases alone. Over the last seven years. Which would have been paid for by higher property taxes. The 2 cap and she some arbitration cap have worked in a state that suffered with 7 property taxes. Every year for a decade, that is an accomplishment of consequence for every new jersey home owner. [applause] heres my first warning for taxpayers in new jerseys future. If you do not act in a bipartisan way to renew the arbitration cap, the property taxes of our citizens will, will skyrocket again. The cap expired nine days ago. The progress we have made over the last seven years is at real risk. And our governorelect has refused to ask the legislator to act before the cap expired. Now, if our Public Safety officers were underpaid, underpaid, i could understand this debate. But even after seven years of a 2 arbitration cap they remain the highest paid Public Safety officers in our entire country. While our taxpayers still pay the highest property taxes in america. Let me be clear. Failure to renew this cap is a failure of leadership, a failure which would cost our . Is money they need to support their families. So, seven days, im just another property taxpayer. Ands a another property taxpayer i am begging you, stand up to these interests, pass the arbitration cap like you have down twist before and do not return the citizens of the state to 7 annual property tax increases, because if you do, shame on you. [applause] [applause] we came to trenton i believe we had aa Higher Education system was underperforming its potential, and sorely needed capital. Governors for decades tried to address the situation and failed to do so. Not the political 2012 do what washington would maximize our educational and economic potential and of that another our students. More afraid of ooffending than we were afraid of failing. We refused. We refused. To accept that state of affairs. So we worked hard. We negotiated and we signed the bipartisan new Jersey Medical and Health Sciences education and restructuring act and we fixed decades of lost opportunity. I want to thank all those of who helped make this happen but governor tom cain, who happened me develop the abrupt and Assembly Monthly lighter Lou Greenwald who led the fight for this in the legislature against all of the opposition, lou, wouldnt have happen without you and i want to say publicly, thank you. [applause] to all the skeptics, lets review the facts. Doing this for you as much as for me, lou. Here it comes. Today, rutgers has a medical school. Schools of public health, and their own cancer institute. It has gone from 55th in nih funding to 22nd and we rid ourselves of the corruption and the selfdealing that was going on at umdmj, task im happy to say i began as u. S. Attorney and im proud to say that we finished as governor. Rowen university, now operates two medical schools and is nationally acclaimed school of engineering. Poised to double the student population and has created Innovative Partnership with the Community Colleges to allow those students to gate four year degree without unthinkable student debt. So let be clear. No one has been a greater champion of increasing Higher Education opportunities for south jersey than at some president Steve Sweeney and rowen would not be what it is today without his persistent leadership. [applause] [applause] we needed to turn to at at te challenge of Capital Improvement to colleges and universities. It had not been done by any administration for 25 years. Since governor tom cain. And our schools showed. Through lesser facilities and higher tuitions. Together, we made the case to the people of new jersey and we passed the building our future bond act, which invested 1. 5 billion in public money and billions more in private and philanthropic money in expanding and modernizes our campuses. Over 208 individual projects are finished and are happening, and our campuses are being transformed. So while other administrations have failed our Higher Education institutes for 25 years due to lack of courage and lack of funding, we refused to accept that failure. Let me tell you, nothing is more consequence shall to the States Economic future than Educational Opportunities for our citizens. We didnt a play small ball, everybody. We acted together, and new jerseys Higher Education system is far better today than it was eight years ago as a result of our actions. [applause] another failing gem of our state eight years ago was the beautiful and historic resort of Atlantic City. From the miss america path generals to diving horse, from americas playland to establish of casino gaming, Atlantic City has been a national and International Destination for more than a century. But as often happens, corruption in Atlantic City, combined with actions in trenton helped to bring the town to the brink of bankruptcy. Bad decisions and timid action based on Political Correctness led to trenton nearly killing the goose that laid the golden egg for all of new jersey. Another problem i began to work on as u. S. Attorney, by puts corrupt Atlantic City politicians in jail for stealing from their people, but unfortunately i that was not nearly enough to heal Atlantic City. As we entered office, let us remember, casinos were closing, property tax rebates were piling up in the hundreds of billions of dollars. The streets were unsafe. And the private sector was fleeing. Not only that, but as a result, property taxes were soaring for the residents of Atlantic City. So, i turned to john handsome, chairman of the number Sports Gaming and Entertainment Commission to develop a blueprint for change. We created a tourism district. We took over policing there. We invested in national advertising, and supported efforts by the City Government, which were wellintentioned but failed. We needed to do more but were being stopped by politicians inside and outside of this chamber who were just trying to score cheap political points and burying their heads in the sand. Fortunately we thought back those entrenched and misguided interests interests interests and acted in a bipartisan way to refliss ineffective City Government who was unwilling or unable to bring about needed change. Through legislative and executive action, we took over Atlantic City, and lets look at what has happened. First, we appointed former United States